


The Illusory Luz

by Owl_lover



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owl_lover/pseuds/Owl_lover
Summary: Amity wishes she could spend more time with Luz, one of the few comforting presences in her otherwise difficult life. But outside of a handful of classes or lunches, they barely see each other.So when Gus makes an illusion of Luz to help her juggle a conflict between tracks, it's no wonder Amity is eager to take it home with her. At first she tells herself it's just to practice asking Luz out, but before long she starts spending more and more time with it, risking losing sight of reality as she becomes enamored with the illusory Luz.
Relationships: Amity Blight & Edric Blight & Emira Blight, Amity Blight & Gus Porter, Amity Blight & Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter, Amity Blight/Luz Noceda, Luz Noceda & Willow Park & Gus Porter, Willow Park & Gus Porter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 71





	1. The Illusion

Luz sat down to lunch with Willow and Gus, and it was immediately apparent to the two of them that their friend wasn’t her usual cheery self.

“What’s wrong?” Willow asked.

Luz sighed. “I was looking forward to this field trip to the griffin sanctuary with the beast keeping track after lunch, but I forgot that I have to present my poem for the bard track, so I won’t be able to go.”

“Can’t you read the poem another time?” Gus asked.

“I asked, but they said no. Oh, look!" Luz suddenly smiled as she pointed across the cafeteria. "It’s Amity!”

Luz started waving and shouting, “Amity!” until she came over.

“Amity, have lunch with us today!” Luz said.

"Well, OK," Amity said, blushing.

Amity had been hoping to have lunch with Luz and the others. The past few days had been difficult for her. She’d uncharacteristically made a mistake in one of her assignments, forcing her to beg Ed and Em to lend her money to get more ingredients at the last minute. Although their parents were wealthy, they didn’t give Amity any money of her own, meaning it was going to take her forever to pay them back. And they’d mercilessly teased her about it, of course.

And though she’d gone to Ed and Em to avoid having to tell her parents about her mistake, it was just her luck that she came home with the ingredients right when they were getting back to the manor from a dinner engagement, forcing her to explain everything. They’d berated her for it, saying she should’ve been more careful, and were still bringing it up. Then they stormed into Amity's room to chastise her for how messy it was, even though it was pretty neat as far as she was concerned, saying this kind of disorganization was why she'd made such a mistake in the first place.

Amity had completed so many assignments perfectly without a word from them, but the one time she’d messed up, they just couldn’t let her hear the end of it.

Her one solace had been Luz, who’d lent her a sympathetic ear and encouraged her. Luz was always so kind to her. She just wished they could spend more time together than the handful of classes they shared and the occasional lunch.

Amity sat down, and Luz explained her dilemma again.

“My poem isn’t even any good,” Luz said. “I had a big project for the oracle track, so I barely had any time to spend on it. Juggling all these tracks is harder than I thought.”

“Maybe you should just focus on one track,” Amity said.

“But they’re all so cool!” Luz protested.

“But no one can do _everything_ they want to do. Studying every track just isn’t realistic. Especially with your disadvantages.”

Luz gasped and glared at Amity. “You know, I think I’ve done pretty well for myself despite my ‘disadvantages.’”

Amity was surprised. She hadn’t meant to be insulting. As a human, Luz was at a disadvantage when it came to learning magic; that was just a fact, wasn’t it? Luz herself had said as much to her at the covention. If anything, it was a compliment. It meant that what Luz had accomplished so far was all the more impressive.

Amity wanted to explain all that to Luz, but she found herself at a loss for words. Why was it that she always seemed to say the wrong thing around Luz? Like when she’d bumped into her and called her a nitwit without thinking, and right when she’d been about to ask Luz to go to Grom with her too.

Luckily, Gus said something to break up the tension.  
  
“You know, Luz, there _is_ one thing we could try. I could make an illusion of you to read your poem!”

“Really?” Luz said. “You could do that for me?”

“Yeah, it would be no problem!”

“Thanks, Gus!” Luz said. “This is perfect! It’ll pose as me for poesy. Hey, that’s not bad!” Luz pulled out her poem and a pen. “Maybe I can add that in somewhere.”

Gus drew a circle, and a perfect copy of Luz appeared.

“Wow!” Luz said before handing the illusion the poem. “Can you read this poem in bard class?”

“Anything you want,” the illusion said.

“Hey, why is _your_ illusion so much more obedient than the ones I make of me?” Gus said.

“Thanks, Gus!” Luz said. “I owe you big time! I’d better tell the beast keeping professor that I’ll be able to go after all.”

As Luz and Gus talked, Amity just stared at the illusion, wide-eyed.

“Gus…" she said. "What exactly are you going to do with that illusion after she reads that poem?”

“Huh? I don’t know, get rid of it, I guess.”

"I see…" Amity said.

* * *

Throughout the next class, Amity thought about that illusion of Luz. ( _Il-Luz-sion?_ she thought. _No, that doesn’t sound good._ ) She’d had strong feelings for Luz for a while now, but every time she’d thought of asking Luz out, she’d either chickened out or said the wrong thing like she’d done just then. Maybe what she needed was some practice. That was the only reason she was considering what she was considering.

After class, Amity went over to the bard classroom and saw the illusory Luz ( _illusory Luz, that sounds better_ , Amity thought) walk out. She followed it to the illusion homeroom as Gus came outside to get rid of it.

“Gus,” Amity said. “Do you think I could… _borrow_ that illusion of Luz?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Uh… I’ve taken up sculpting recently. And it’s so hard to find someone who can model for me. I thought this illusion could work.”

“Wow, sculpting? That’s cool! Hey, what if you sculpted me instead? I’ve always wanted a sculpture of me!”

“Well… I’ve just gotten started. I’d rather wait to sculpt you until I’ve gotten better.”

“Oh? Then yeah, take the illusion! Get as much practice as you can!”

“Thanks. Also, could you not tell anyone about this? I want to keep it a secret… until my sculpting has gotten better.”

“Sure!”

* * *

After school, Amity put the illusion in a big pot like the ones she used to make her abominations so no one would see it. But that turned out to be unnecessary; no one was at Blight manor when she got home. She got the illusion to her room and locked the door.

“You won’t tell anyone else about anything we discuss in here, will you?” Amity asked the illusion.

“Not if you don’t want me to,” it said.

"Good. Pretend you’re Luz. The real Luz. And I'm going to ask you out.”

“OK,” the illusion said. "And what should I say?"

"Well… say yes."

The illusion nodded.

Amity took a deep breath in and out. “Luz, I… really like you… and I was wondering whether maybe you might want to think about going out with me sometime… if you wanted to.”

“I’d love to, Amity!” the illusion said.

Even though she knew it wasn’t real, Amity’s heart fluttered wildly upon hearing that. She had to take a minute to compose herself. Now came the hard part.

“OK,” Amity said. “Now, I’m going to ask you out again, and I want you to say no.”

Amity figured that if she could get used to the image of Luz rejecting her then she wouldn’t be so afraid of it happening for real.

“Whatever you say,” the illusion said.

Amity braced herself. “Luz, I really like you, and I wanted to ask you whether you might want to try going out on a date with me.”

“Oh, that’s really flattering, Amity, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

Hearing that felt bad, but not nearly as bad as Amity had thought it would. But that was just because she knew it wasn’t real no matter how much the illusion looked and sounded like Luz.

Amity sighed. “This was a dumb idea. I should get to my homework.” Then her brow furrowed. “Uh, how do I get rid of you?”

“If you just hit me hard enough, I’ll disappear.”

Amity shoved the illusion lightly, but nothing happened. Surprisingly, it _felt_ like a real person too.

“It didn’t work,” Amity said.

“That was too gentle. You have to give me a pretty hard whack.”

Amity hesitated. Even though she knew it was an illusion, hitting it would feel a lot like hurting the real Luz.

“I’ll just wait until Gus can get rid of you tomorrow,” Amity said.

Amity sat down at her desk to do her homework, but it was strange with the illusion there. She felt like she was being watched.

Then, she wondered, if the illusion were going to be there anyway, maybe she should make some type of use of it.

“Hey,” Amity said. “Do you think maybe you could… put your arm over my shoulders while I’m doing my homework? And maybe say, ‘You’re doing a good job’ or something like that every so often?”

“Anything you want,” the illusion said.

The illusion put her arm on Amity’s shoulders, and her heart started to beat rapidly as she felt herself getting flushed.

 _It’s not real_ , she reminded herself. _And it’s just for today_.

"You don't think it's… weird… for me to ask you to do this, do you?"

"No," the illusion said.

Once Amity started focusing on her homework, she began to feel more normal. That was, until the first time the illusion said, “You’re doing a great job, just like you always do.”

That felt so good to hear.

The hours passed on that way. It wasn’t uncommon for Amity to feel good after a long session of studying or homework. It gave her a sense of accomplishment, especially when she’d completed a project. But she’d never felt _this_ good. That encouragement from Luz– no, not Luz, it was an illusion, she couldn’t forget that– had made it so much better.

“Thank you,” Amity said once she’d finished. “I’m going to bed. Uh, do you sleep?”

“No,” the illusion said, shaking its head.

“Will you get bored waiting for me to get up?”

“No,” the illusion said. “But if there’s anything you want me to do overnight, I could do it for you.”

“Oh… well… do you think maybe you could clean my room a little?”

“Sure,” the illusion said.

* * *

When Amity woke up the next morning, she found her room immaculate.

“Wow, thanks,” Amity said.

“It was no problem,” the illusion said.

Amity had gotten up early so she could leave with the illusion before anyone else would be up to see it. She had to take it back to Hexside to get Gus to dispel it. But then she wondered, what if she kept it for one more day? Just to get a little more practice asking Luz out. No other reason.

“If I asked you to stay here all day and be quiet, would you get bored?” Amity asked.

“Nope. Is there anything I could do for you while you’re gone?”

Amity considered. “No, I can’t think of anything.”

Now that she didn’t have to worry about going to school early, Amity realized that she had some extra time that morning.

“Hey, do you think we could maybe talk for a bit?”

“Absolutely,” the illusion said.

“And you won’t… judge me for anything I say?”

“Of course not,” the illusion said.

* * *

“So, I was only trying to help Luz, but she got mad at me anyway,” Amity said. She'd been talking to the illusion for a while now, and at this point she'd started resting her head on the illusions shoulder as it stroked her hair. “Do you think I did anything wrong?”

“No,” the illusion said.

“Thanks, I didn’t think so either.” Amity sighed. “I don’t know, maybe Luz would never go out with me. What do you think?”

“I don’t know,” the illusion said. “But no matter what Luz says, I’ll say ‘Yes’ to anything you ask, if that’s what you want.”

Amity blushed. “Thanks. I'd better get to school."

Amity packed her backpack. Before she left, she looked back at the illusion one more time and asked, “And you’ll be here when I get back?”

“Of course,” the illusion said.

Amity left for Hexside, and for once she couldn’t wait to get back home.


	2. Gus Makes Another Illusion

The next day at Hexside, Gus was with Willow when Skara came over.

“Hey,” Skara said to Gus. “Did you make an illusion of Luz yesterday?”

“How did you know?” Gus asked.

“I saw her read her poem in bard class, but I heard from one of my friends in the beast keeping track about how she almost released all the griffins yesterday at their field trip. And since you’re her friend and in the illusion track, I put two and two together.”

“So, why are you here?” Willow asked warily.

“I was hoping you could do the same thing for me.”

“Huh? Why?” Gus asked.

“Boscha wants to go to this concert tonight, but I don’t really like the band. I was thinking I could send an illusion instead.”

“Why can’t you just tell Boscha you don’t want to go?” Willow asked.

“Well… it would just be a lot easier if I didn’t have to do that.”

“I don’t know…” Gus said.

“Please? I’ll give you five snails.”

“Five snails! Really?” Gus jumped up and pumped his fist into the air. “Yeah! I’ll do it!”

Skara handed him the money, and Gus made the illusion.

“Wow, thanks!” Skara said before walking off cheerily with her double.

“Look Willow!” Gus said, holding up the bill. “I have money now!”

“Are you sure about this, Gus? I’m worried it could get out of hand.”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s only one illusion. Now let’s go spend these things!”

* * *

Meanwhile, Amity went through the whole day thinking about Luz and the illusion. It wasn’t until the end of the day that she spotted Luz in the hallway. She wondered whether she should go over there and try to smooth things over regarding what she’d said about Luz’s disadvantages. But she ultimately decided against it. She’d wait just a little bit longer.

Instead, Amity hurried home and locked herself in her room with the illusion.

“Hi, Luz,” she said before mentally chastising herself. _That’s not Luz,_ she thought to herself. _Don’t forget that._

“Hello,” the illusion said. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Maybe you could pretend to be the real Luz and let me ask you out again.”

“OK. And how should I answer?”

“Well, maybe instead of answering one way or another, you could try to say something unexpected. You know, to throw me off.”

“OK,” it said.

“Well, here goes: Luz, I really like you, and I was hoping we might go out sometime if that’s something you think you might like.”

“Oh? What is it you like about me?”

Amity considered how to answer. “Well, you’re always kind to me, and you’ve made my life so much better, and… I don’t know, there are a lot of things.” Amity groaned. “I don’t know if I can tell Luz all that. It would be so embarrassing. It’s so much easier talking to you. I never have to worry about saying the wrong thing. Or that you’ll make fun of me.”

“Luz would make fun of you?”

“Well… no. I guess I was thinking more of Ed and Em. Or Boscha and the girls. But even though I know Luz wouldn’t make fun of me… I don’t know, I really care how she sees me. I don’t want her to think I’m a dork or something, I guess.”

“I’ll never think that about you,” the illusion said.

Amity smiled. “Thanks. Well, I guess I should get to work. Can you do the same thing for me that you did yesterday while I study?”

“Anything you want,” the illusion said.

After studying that way for a while, Amity said, “This is so nice. The real Luz wouldn’t be able to just sit with me for hours while I study.”

“But I can,” the illusion said.

“Yeah,” Amity said. Then, she got an idea. “You know, if I did ask Luz out and she said yes, I’d have to take her out on a really great date. Maybe it would help if I practiced by taking you out. But just for practice!”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

Amity smiled.


	3. Amity's Date

As Amity walked through the park that she’d taken the illusion to, holding it by the hand, she tried to tamp down her excitement. After all, she was just doing this to _practice_ dating the real Luz.

But it felt so much like she was on a real date with her! Amity had imagined what going on a date with Luz might be like. Honestly, she’d imagined it pretty vividly at times. But no fantasy could feel as real as this did.

“This is nice, isn’t it?” Amity said.

“Yeah,” the illusion replied.

“Do you think Luz would like this park?” Amity asked.

“I don’t know,” the illusion said.

Amity sighed. By now, she should’ve figured that that’s how the illusion would answer.

The pair passed by an orange-skinned witch selling ice cream.

“So… do you eat?” Amity asked the illusion.

“No,” it said.

If this were the real Luz, they could’ve shared an ice cream cone together. Every so often, Amity would be confronted with a reminder that she was with a mere illusion that she couldn’t ignore.

Wait, she wasn’t trying to _ignore_ the fact that the illusion wasn’t the real Luz. She was trying to _remind_ herself of that fact if she ever lost sight of it. Right?

Amity got herself a scoop of grasshopper ice cream, her favorite because it matched the color of her hair.

“I probably shouldn’t have bought that,” Amity said. “Ed and Em lent me some money that I still have to pay back.”

“That’s nice of them,” the illusion said.

“Well… kind of. But they keep teasing me about it.” Amity sighed. “They said this proved that despite all my posturing, I'm just as irresponsible as them. And I guess I was.”

She and the illusion were approaching the pond in the middle of the park. It was a chilly day, so the pond was only steaming rather than boiling as it usually did.

“Why don’t we just sit by the pond for a little while.”

“OK,” the illusion said

They sat, and soon Amity started leaning against the illusion and resting her head on its shoulder. It felt nice.

“I usually don’t care about their teasing,” Amity said after a moment. “But this time it kind of bothered me.”

“Oh?” the illusion said.

“Yeah. I guess it’s because being responsible is the one way I’ve always been better than them. If I can’t even say that anymore, then what good am I?” Amity sighed. “Do you think I’m irresponsible?”

“Of course not,” the illusion said. “You’re very responsible.”

Amity smiled. “Thanks.”

“Did you tell your brother and sister that their teasing was bothering you?”

“I can’t do that! Letting them know that their teasing got to me would just make me look weak. And they’d tease me even more.”

“Oh,” the illusion said. “But you can tell _me_ anything without worrying about that.”

“I know,” Amity said. “You know, the real Luz would’ve probably said that I should talk to them. Or maybe tried to talk to them herself without even checking with me. She’s always jumping into things like that.”

“And you don’t like that?”

“Well… no, I do. If it weren’t for her doing that kind of thing, we never would’ve become friends. But… I don’t know, sometimes it’s nice to have someone around who’s a little more… a little less…”

Amity wasn’t sure how to put it. A little more obedient? That sounded awful. More predictable? Not much better.

“You know what I mean, right?” Amity said.

Before the illusion could answer, Amity heard a voice from a distance call out, “Luz! Is that you?”

Amity, recognizing that voice as Gus’s, abruptly pulled herself away from the illusion as he ran over.

“Luz! Oh hi, Amity. Hey, wait a minute, is this the illusion?”

Amity nodded and then asked, nervously, “Is Willow here?”

“No, I came with my dad. He’s over there.” Gus pointed to his dad, who waved from the distance.

Amity breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh, you must be sculpting,” Gus said. “Where’s your… what do you sculpt with? Clay? Marble?”

“Um…” Amity tried to come up with an answer and looked down at the ice cream cone in her hand. “Actually, there’s this technique where you start off by sculpting with something more malleable to practice and then move on to something like clay. So, I’m sculpting with this ice cream.”

“Oh, really? Let me see!”

Amity grimaced as she started molding the ice cream with her hand.

“It doesn’t seem to be working too well,” Gus said. “It’s just melting in your hand.”

“Yeah,” Amity said, disgustedly wiping her hand on the grass.

“Well, I’ll let you practice,” Gus said. “Bye!”

Gus ran off, and Amity peered around the park to make sure there were no other familiar faces. She’d picked this park because it was a bit out of the way and she never ran into people from Hexside there. She wasn’t sure how she’d explain things if she ran into anyone else she knew, particularly Luz herself. Once she’d ensured that the coast was clear, Amity relaxed and lay against the illusion again.


End file.
